MINNEAPOLIS — One of the ex-officers already imprisoned for his role in helping to hold down George Floyd as he pleaded for his life in a south Minneapolis street two years ago received a 3 1/2-year state sentence Friday.
J. Alexander Kueng appeared from a federal prison in Ohio for a 15-minute virtual hearing when Judge Peter Cahill announced his agreed-upon sentence of 3 1/2 years for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Kueng's state sentence will be served concurrently with the three-year federal sentence he's serving for violating Floyd's civil rights.
Kueng did not speak during the sentencing.
In a surprise move in October on what was supposed to be the first day of jury selection in Hennepin County District Court, Kueng entered a last-minute guilty plea.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank said while he appreciates Kueng's plea and taking responsibility for what he did, "it just took too long to get there."
"Mr. Kueng was not simply a bystander in what happened that day," he said. "In fact, he did less than some of the bystanders tried to do to help with Mr. Floyd."
Frank said that Floyd's family and friends are trying to move on with healing, but that's difficult to do with ongoing court proceedings. He said prosecution has focused on the conduct of officers in causing Floyd's death, not an "examination on policing in general."
"But if some lessons can come from this case, all the better ... Being a peace officer is a very difficult job, it is truly a profession. But part of that profession is dealing with people every day who are not having their best day. Who are struggling with mental health, who are struggling with addiction and other anxieties."
He said providing medical assistance is part of the job, but officers didn't do that for Floyd. Kueng wasn't just a rookie, Frank said, he went through all the training and after graduating from the police academy, he worked on the streets for five months before Floyd's killing. During that time, he learned proper use of force and medical aid, Frank said.
Kueng's attorney Thomas Plunkett disagreed, saying his client was a three-day rookie after he completed his training while trusting his leadership, including now-retired Chief Medaria Arradondo and Inspector Katie Blackwell, who testified of how the officers did not follow training protocol by failing to render aid to Floyd.
"The chief rides off into the sunset with a handsome pension. Mrs. Blackwell received a promotion to inspector and Mr. Kueng, the rookie, sits in prison one year for every day he served the city," Plunkett said.
"It is clear that leadership learned nothing and forgot nothing. They failed Mr. Kueng. They failed Mr. Floyd and they failed the community. Protesters have called for justice. Unfortunately, justice has become nothing more than mean-spirited revenge ... I'm calling for progress. That way Mr. Floyd's life and Mr. Kueng's punishment will not be in vain."
Kueng's sentencing had been set for Friday morning, but it was rescheduled for later that afternoon. The Federal Correctional Institution near Elkton, Ohio, a low-security prison for male inmates, said in an email that the prison "experienced some technical difficulties with the virtual hearing."
His plea deal avoided what would have been the third trial in connection to Floyd's murder. It was to be held jointly with ex-Officer Tou Thao, who also made a decision to avoid another lengthy state trial. Thao agreed to a bench trial, meaning Cahill, not a jury, will reach a verdict by mid-February on aiding second-degree manslaughter.
That joint trial was expected to last until mid-December and involve dozens of witnesses recounting Floyd's murder on May 25, 2020, by former Officer Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin was convicted last year of second-degree murder and manslaughter for pressing his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin later pleaded guilty to federal charges for violating Floyd's civil rights and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Kueng, 29, admitted to being culpably negligent and creating an unreasonable risk. The negotiated settlement included the dismissal of a second count of second-degree unintentional murder — which was also dropped for Thao.
Kueng and Thao initially rejected an offer that ex-Officer Thomas Lane accepted to avoid state trial.
According to his plea deal, Kueng agreed that he and the other officers responded to Cup Foods on reports of Floyd passing a counterfeit $20 bill at the store located at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. Kueng "knowingly and intentionally assisted in restraining Mr. Floyd by holding his torso" after he was handcuffed and placed on the asphalt in a prone position.
"Restraining a handcuffed person in the prone position in this manner poses serious risk of death due to positional asphyxia. This is known risk in the law enforcement profession and the defendant was conscious and aware of this risk based on his experience and training."
Further, the plea deal states that Kueng "was able to hear Mr. Floyd repeat that he could not breathe numerous times during the restraint" and that Floyd "fell silent as the restraint continued, eventually did not have pulse, and appeared to have lost consciousness."
Kueng "was then specifically aware that then-Officer Chauvin was restraining Mr. Floyd by placing his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck and upper back area ... the defendant knew from his training that the officers should have placed Mr. Floyd in the side-recovery position to facilitate breathing."
But Kueng "nonetheless continued to intentionally assist in the restraint, creating and consciously taking an unreasonable risk of causing death, and in fact caused the death of George Floyd." Kueng agrees that the restraint was "an unlawful use of force."
All three officers were found guilty of federal charges in a jury trial.
The legal team representing Floyd's family — Florida-based Ben Crump and co-counsel Antonio Romanucci, of Chicago, and Jeff Storms, of Minneapolis — shared in a statement that Kueng's sentencing "delivers yet another piece of justice for the Floyd family."
"While the family faces yet another holiday season without George, we hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George's death was not in vain."
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